Net Promoter Score Breakdown

CRM & Retention

Also: NPS Breakdown · NPS Segmentation

NPS = % Promoters (score 9-10) minus % Detractors (score 0-6), Passives (7-8) excluded

Formula% Promoters minus % Detractors

Three groupsPromoters, passives, detractors

Blind spotSame score, different customer mix

Judge byWhich segment is moving, not the total

Quick definition

A Net Promoter Score (NPS) breakdown splits survey respondents into three groups: promoters (score 9-10), passives (score 7-8) and detractors (score 0-6). NPS itself is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors. The breakdown shows which group is actually driving the headline score up or down.

How it varies across Australia

Australian businesses that report NPS rarely publish the breakdown alongside it, which makes cross-industry comparison shaky. Response rates and survey timing shift the mix as much as real customer sentiment does. Comparing your breakdown against a benchmark is only meaningful once the survey population is comparable.

Explore retention and loyalty benchmarks across Australian industries →

The three segments

Promoters

Score 9 or 10. Loyal customers likely to repurchase and refer others.

Score: 9-10

Passives

Score 7 or 8. Satisfied but unenthusiastic, easily swayed by a competitor's next offer.

Score: 7-8

Detractors

Score 0 to 6. Unhappy customers who can damage word of mouth and referrals.

Score: 0-6

What it actually means

A single Net Promoter Score (NPS) number hides more than it reveals. Two businesses can both post a score of twenty and mean entirely different things by it. One might have a large group of promoters offset by a smaller group of detractors, a happy majority carrying a minority of complaints. The other might have a huge passive middle, a business nobody hates but nobody loves either. The number is identical. The customer base is not.

The breakdown splits respondents into three buckets from the same survey question. Promoters rate you nine or ten. Passives rate you seven or eight. Detractors rate you zero to six. NPS is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors, with passives sitting out of the calculation entirely.

That's the part people forget. Passives are counted in the total respondents but not in the numerator or subtractor. A business with a large passive middle can look mediocre on NPS while actually being one good feature release away from a jump, because passives convert to promoters far more easily than detractors ever do.

Retention rate, churn rate and lifetime value all move differently depending on which segment is growing. Watching the breakdown, not just the headline number, is how you catch a churn problem before it shows up in the accounts.

Two businesses can post the same NPS with entirely different customer bases. One is stable, the other is one bad week from collapse.

How to calculate it

NPS = % Promoters (score 9-10) minus % Detractors (score 0-6). Passives (score 7-8) are excluded from the sum.

Worked example. Survey 200 customers. 90 score 9-10, giving 45% promoters. 70 score 7-8, giving 35% passives. 40 score 0-6, giving 20% detractors. NPS = 45 minus 20 = 25. The breakdown shows a large passive middle, meaning the score has real upside if those customers can be nudged toward promoter.

The Australian context

Australian NPS benchmarks vary widely across industries, and response rates matter more than most dashboards admit. A finance brand surveying every customer after a claim will see a different mix than a retailer surveying only engaged email subscribers. Before comparing your breakdown to an industry benchmark, check whether the underlying survey population and response rate are even comparable. A polished average NPS built on a small response rate from your happiest customers tells you very little about the market you actually serve.

Where people get this wrong

Treating passives as a neutral group not worth analysing.Passives are the segment most likely to move in either direction, so ignoring them means missing the earliest warning signs of churn or the easiest wins for growth.

Comparing the headline score without checking the breakdown.A stable score can mask a shrinking promoter base offset by a shrinking detractor base, two very different businesses producing the same number.

Surveying only happy or highly engaged customers.A skewed sample inflates the promoter share and hides the detractor share, producing a breakdown that flatters the business instead of describing it.

Common questions

What's the difference between NPS and the NPS breakdown?

NPS is the single headline number, the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors. The breakdown is the underlying split showing how many respondents fell into each of the three groups. The breakdown explains why the headline number moved.

Why do passives matter if they're not in the formula?

Passives sit in the total respondent count, so a growing passive group without conversion dilutes the score even if nothing else changes. They're also the cheapest segment to convert into promoters, making them the most actionable part of the breakdown.

How often should I look at the breakdown, not just the score?

Every time you report NPS. A flat headline score can hide a detractor group that's growing quietly. Reviewing the breakdown alongside churn rate and retention rate each reporting period catches problems before they show up in revenue.

Can two businesses with the same NPS have different customer health?

Yes, easily. One business might have a high promoter and high detractor split with few passives, a polarising product. Another might be mostly passives with small promoter and detractor groups on either side. Same score, very different risk profile.

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About New Rebellion

New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.

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